Fading Away
by evilRevan
Summary: There are times when a Hero just can't go on any longer. Lying on a her deathbed, the Hero of the Republic is visited by a loved one; a Sith pureblood whom now followed the Jedi code like her. As the machine ticks down, her life slowly fading, they share a moment that will always be remembered. F! Jedi Knight and Lord Praven


A steady loud beeping echoed inside the sterile white medical bay, a red line moved up and down with the beeps, spiking and dipping at random intervals as the seconds ticked by.

Hooked up to the strange apparatus, Aditaya laid upon a stark white medical bed, wearing nothing but blood stained bandages and a pair of dark brown shorts. A thin white linen sheet covered her immobile body, hiding bloody wounds, bruises, and burn marks covering her entire lower body. Her green chest, wrapped up in bloodied bandages, moved up and down thanks to a breathing apparatus strapped to her pale, ghastly yellow green colored face.

Several thin tubes pierced under her skin, providing vital nutrients and liquids she was unable to consume herself.

People came and went, praying for the woman that had saved the republic, and saved their lives. Humans, Mirialians, Twi'leks, aliens of all sorts, Jedi, farmers, Padawans, nobles, and the poor knelt by her bedside, tears streaking their faces as they clasped their hands together in prayer. They never stayed long. Facing reality was too hard for them; the reality that their _hero_, their _savior_, would possibly never wake up.

Trinkets were left on the table beside her; gifts of thanks, healing, recovery, and grief.

The scent of chemicals mingled with the scent of blood, shattering high hopes and prayers. Even the doctors, Doc especially, feared the worst was right around the corner. Given the injuries she sustained, immobile and reliant on a breathing apparatus, death seemed very likely. Kolto soaks didn't work. The only thing that could be done was wait; wait and pray.

The visitors trickled down to a halt, creating an eerie silence filled by the beeps of life support machine in the back of the room.

Hours passed. And no one came.

Aditaya's chest slowly rose and fell in the silence, completely oblivious to the world around her. The force sputtered and flickered, slowly dying like a flame doused with water.

The door opened one more time, creaking loudly over the constant beeping noise. A pureblood walked inside, closing the door behind him with a soft 'click'.

Orange eyes looked upon the immobile form, sensing the flickering, dying force that surrounded the Hero of the Republic. It left behind a sense of serenity and peace, in its wake. Even in death, there was no fear lingering in her force.

He crossed the threshold, making his way to her bedside like so many others had before. But their reasons had been different. They came to see their savor; their hero one last time before she passed on. Lord Praven, a Jedi Knight now, had come to see her one last time, to ease his heavy heart.

It was difficult, gazing upon her bruised, battered face. Burn marks, scars, and wounds marred her skin that she had received defending a long person of the republic from an explosion that would have ended their life.

He had been there when it happened. But he was well out of the blast's radius, receiving only a couple of minor burns that healed once a Kolto pack as placed upon them. Aditaya wasn't so lucky.

The explosion had engulfed the building she had been in, setting it ablaze as the flames spread to up to the top floor. Sweet natured and selfless, Aditaya had been found in the debris, sheltering a lone human child forgotten in the chaos. Thanks to her actions, the child had survived. But Aditaya paid the price for it. Shrapnel from the explosion cut into her skin, tiny bits ripping right through various parts of her body. Some even managed to permanently damage her vital organs in the process.

A thin line of blood ran down the corner of her mouth, smearing her bronze painted lips. Her teal eye shadow was gone, replaced with a thick layer of black soot.

Anger and grief were the first emotions to bubble up to the surface, followed closely by helplessness.

He held her hand in his, well aware she wouldn't feel him doing so. Her skin felt cold; colder than Hoth had ever felt before.

A large red thumb rubbed across the back of her hand to draw some sort of warmth into her green skin. Her hand remained as frigid as icicles on Hoth, despite his best efforts.

The machine kept on beeping as if it was privately telling him she was still alive, hanging on by just a thread.

Waiting with bated breath to see her eyes open; to see her hazel eyes shimmer under the light, Lord Praven stayed by her side, tuning out the machine's insistent beeping. Orange eyes focused on the rise and fall of her chest, the breathing mask guiding her lung to do what should have come naturally to her.

Her face flashed in his mind, overriding his emotions and thoughts. Her hazel eyes twinkled, happiness shining from them as her mouth curved upwards into a sincere smile. This wasn't the face that had a breathing mask strapped to it.

Lord Praven struggled to remember the Jedi code, his emotions consuming his mind like a dust storm on Tatooine. The force spiked for a split second, as if spurred on by some unknown force.

Lord Praven held his breath as he saw her eyes flicker open, pain etched in those hazel colored eyes.

Upon waking, she took a few moments before she smiled up at him, weakly squeezing his hand.

"Aditaya. How-" He couldn't form the question. It didn't matter. She knew what he wanted to ask, he saw it in her eyes.

More blood dribbled out from her mouth, running down to the edge of her clear fiberglass mask.

"I – felt… your…" She paused, shivering under the thin white blanket. "-Presence… in the force." Her voice sounded weak and raw.

He watched her strength waned as she physically _forced_ herself to stay awake as long as she could bare to.

"You should rest. Do not talk." Aditaya heard the pain in his voice. Five, tiny, green skinned fingers laced with his larger, thicker, red colored fingers. She smiled up at him through all the pain.

"There…" She coughed. Blood splattered the clear colored mask. But she didn't stop and pressed onwards, "-Is no death…"

"There is only the force." He finished for her. Her clouded hazel eyes twinkled for only a split second. It was enough. Their fingers released as she tried reached up towards his face. She was too weak to reach all the way up, so he took her hand and placed it upon his cheek for her.

Aditaya's fingers twitched slightly against his skin, finally sensing the change in temperature between her skin and his.

The bed creaked when a red skinned hand pressed upon the edge, Lord Praven leaning over so he could see her face more clearly, while his hand held her hand to his face.

The scent of fresh blood became stronger. Aditaya's linen bandages soaked up more blood spilling from her wounds, staining them a bright crimson color. The hero of the Republic wasn't going to last very long.

Her free hand clawed at her mask, weakly breaking the straps on the side of her face, releasing herself from the wretched thing for good. He tried to protest, to tell her to put it back on. But she slowly shook her head, no.

Aditaya; a Jedi Knight and a servant of the light, was accepting death with a blood stained smile.

"I… Love you." She said, still smiling as more thin streams of blood ran over her lips. "I…I will-" She took a moment to breathe. "-always be with you… even in death, Praven." Using whatever strength she had left, maybe drawing on the force itself, and leaned forward to place one last kiss on his red colored lips. The taste of blood was the only thing he tasted when she parted from him, dropping back down on the bed like a dead weight. "Do not stray from the light." She whispered softly to him as the force around her died completely. Aditaya's dark green eyelids slowly closed, her chest rose up one last time to release one last breath before becoming unnaturally still.

Lord Praven watched the woman who had saved him, given him a purpose, and loved him become one with the force. Fighting with his inner demons, he remembered her last words.

_Do not stray from the light._

For her sake. He wouldn't.


End file.
